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POSITORY 
HONOLULU. 


Hawaii  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 


E.  V.   WILCOX,  Special  Agent  in  Charge. 


PRESS   BULLETIN    NO.  28. 


PEANUTS  IN  HAWAII**/?***- 


BY 

G.  KRAUSS, 

AGRONOMIST 


~:N0V 


The  peanut  is  an  annual  plant.     Two  more  or 
types  are  in  general  cultivation.     Under  Hawaiian 
the  "bunch"  type  grows  into  an  erect,  compact  bush  %*^**3&m  «,,»**** 
inches  high  with  an  equal  spread  of  foliage ;    the  "running"  or 
"flat"  type  is  decumbent  and  spreading,  rarely  more  than  a  foot 
high,  and  in  some  varieties  attains  a  spread  of  fully  5  feet  in 
diameter,  depending  on  variety  and  cultural  conditions. 

The  fruit  is  not  a  nut  but  a  ripened  pod  with  edible  seeds, 
not  unlike  the  pea  and  bean.  The  prominent  yellow  inflores- 
ence  are  the  male  (staminate)  flowers,  the  female  (pistillate) 
flowers  are  hidden  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  After  fertiliza- 
tion has  taken  place  the  male  flowers  shrivel  and  fall  away, 
while  the  female  flowers  rapidly  develop  into  the  rudimentary 
fruit  on  the  end  of  an  elongated  stem.  This  soon  turns  down- 
ward and  burrows  into  the  ground,  where  it  matures  its  so-called 
nuts.  From  experiments  conducted  by  the  Station,  the  peanut 
would  seem  to  deserve  extensive  planting  in  Hawaii.  Except 
for  an  occasional  small  planting  made  by  Chinese  and  Japanese 
gardeners,  very  little  has  been  clone  to  develop  it  as  a  field  crop. 
In  the  southern  states  the  peanut  is  prized  among  the  most  val- 
uable crops,  combining,  as  it  does,  the  desirable  qualities  of 
several  important  farm  crops.     The  portion  above  ground  makes 


a  superior  hay  for  horses,  cattle  and  sheep,  while  the  under- 
ground portion  yields  the  nuts,  which,  acre  for  acre,  is  said  to 
be  more  nutritious  than  the  best  corn  or  root  crop  that  could  be 
grown  on  the  same  type  of  land.  The  crop  may  be  pastured, 
cured  as  fodder,  or  harvested  with  a  view  to  disposing  of  the 
nuts  as  a  money  crop.  Being  a  leguminous  plant,  it  builds  up 
the  land  through  its  power  to  utilize  atmospheric  nitrogen.  Its 
roots  are  nearly  always  well  supplied  with  the  nitrifying  bac- 
teria nodules,  an  indication  that  the  plant  is  performing  this 
«r*  \  ;••  Valuable  function.  For  this  reason  and  because  it  is  a  tilled 
crop,*-which  leaves  the  soil  mellow,  it  is  well  adapted  for  rota- 
tion with  other  crops.  Furthermore,  the  crop  grows  with  a  less 
amount  of  moisture  and  on  lands  too  sandy  for  corn  and  some 
other  of  the  more  common  Hawaiian  forage  crops. 

Recognizing  the  possible  value  of  the  improved  peanut  to 
''  %  '"■'  fffui  Hawaiian  agriculture,  this  Station  in  1908  imported  from  a 
leading  grower  in  Virginia  150  pounds  choice  seed  of  the  fol- 
lowing varieties :  Spanish,  Bunch  Jumbo,  Running  Jumbo,  and 
Virginia  Creeping.  These  are  illustrated  in  their  natural  size 
in  Plate  I.  The  seed  was  widely  distributed  over  the  islands 
and  a  number  of  favorable  reports  were  received  showing  that 
the  peanut  would  thrive  over  a  wide  territory.  The  best  results 
appear  invariably  to  have  been  obtained  on  light  soils  with  mod- 
erate moisture.  Heavy  soils  and  wet  locations  proved  in  most 
cases  unsuited.  These  results  have  been  largely  confirmed  in 
the  Station  experiments,  although  fair  yields  and  a  fair  quality 
of  nut  have  been  obtained  on  the  medium  heavy  and  moist 
mauka  lands  of  the  Station,  and  under  similar  conditions  in 
Kalihi  and  Manoa  valleys  on  Oahu.  But  the  nuts  grown  under 
snch  conditions  are  always  more  or  less  discolored. 

The  following  table  summarizes  the  results  obtained  by  the 
Station  in  small  plantings  and  in  more  extensive  co-operative 
experiments  with  outside  growers. 


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These  yields  for  the  most  part  compare  favorably  with  the 
best  yields  obtained  in  the  leading  peanut-growing  districts  of 
the  South,  notably  the  districts  in  Virginia  and  i^orth  Caro- 
lina, where  the  Station  obtained  its  original  seed. 

Xo  better  proof  of  the  adaptability  of  the  peanut  to  favor- 
able Hawaiian  conditions  could  be  given  than  to  indicate  its 
improvement  under  several  years  local  culture.  The  following- 
table  gives  the  average  number  of  peanuts  in  a  pound  of  the 
select,  originally  imported  seed  stocks  in  comparison  with  the 
Hawaiian-grown  nuts  after  three  years'  selection: 

TABLE  II. 
AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  PEANUTS  IN  POD  PER  POUND. 


Variety 


Spanish  

Running    Jumbo 

Bunch    Jumbo 

Virginia    Creeping 

Bunch  Virginia   (sport) 


Original  seed  as 
imported. 


Hawaiian  grown 

seed  in  third 

generation. 


It  will  be  noted  that  in  all  varieties  there  were  considerably 
more  nuts  per  pound  in  the  original  seed  than  in  the  Station- 
grown  stock.  This  would  indicate  that  the  Hawaiian-grown 
seed  has  increased  materially  in  weight  over  the  imported  seed. 
It  should  be  further  noted  that  this  increase  in  weight  is  not 
due  to  an  increase  in  size  of  the  pod,  but  rather  to  larger  and 
heavier  kernels,  which  is  of  far  greater  importance.  The  well- 
filled  pods  of  the  several  varieties  of  the  Hawaiian-grown  nut 
is  well  shown  in  Plate  I.  This  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
poorly-filled  and  frequent  "pops,"  (empty  pods),  met  with  in 
the  exceptionally  large  pods  of  the  Jumbo  varieties  during  our 
earlier  experiments.  In  selecting  for  seed,  growers  are  cau- 
tioned to  avoid  selecting  the  extra  large  pods,  which,  while  they 
are  of  fine  appearance,   frequently  bear  poorly-developed   ker- 


nels.  Well-filled  pods  of  medium  size  give  much  better  satis- 
faction in  both  yield  and  quality  of  product.  Xot  alone  are  the 
kernels  of  the  Hawaiian-grown  nut  large  and  heavy,  but  also  is 
the  tonnage  yield  and  quality  high. 

The  following  are  the  average  yields  per  plant  of  sound, 
well-matured  nuts  taken  from  a  large  number  of  select  plants 
used  for  breeding  purposes:  Spanish,  145  ;  Bunch  Jumbo,  184; 
Running  Jumbo,  208;  Virginia  Creeping,  219;  and  Virginia 
Bunch,  a  sport  selected  from  among  the  first  generation  of  im- 
ported Virginia  Creeping,  190.  Numerous  selections  of  Vir- 
ginia Creeping  having  yielded  250  and  more  sound  nuts.  The 
green  weight  of  such  plants  has  averaged  something  over  10 
pounds  each,  and  the  cured  pods  have  run  about  250  seeds  per 
pound  as  against  325  pods  per  pound  of  the  imported  stock. 
.V  single  plant  of  the  sport,  Bunch  Virginia,  has  yielded  280 
nuts,  weighing  one  pound  and  three  ounces. 

Plate  II  illustrates  a  specimen  plant  of  each  of  the  five 
varieties  considered  in  this  bulletin  and  gives  some  idea  of  their 
heavy  fruiting  under  favorable  conditions.  Taken  one  season 
with  another,  the  Virginia  Bunch,  Virginia  Creeping  and  Span- 
ish have  given  the  most  uniformly  good  results  from  Station 
plantings,  although  in  one  or  two  instances  the  Jumbo  type 
appears  to  have  out-yielded  either  of  the  other  sorts. 

Virile  the  Jumbo  and  Virginia  types  resemble  each  other 
very  closely  in  habit  of  growth  and  size  and  shape  of  nuts,  the 
Spanish  type  is  entirely  distinct.  Instead  of  the  large,  rank 
growth  of  foliage,  and  large  nuts  which  characterize  the  other 
varieties,  the  Spanish  is  a  very  much  smaller  and  compact 
grower,  bearing  practically  all  its  small,  well-shaped  and  closelv- 
filled  pods  in  a  compact  cluster  centered  about  the  tap  root. 
This  is  much  less  common  in  the  bunch  variety  of  either  the 
Virginia  or  Jumbo  type,  but  totally  absent  in  the  running  varie- 
ties, in  which  the  peanuts  are  distributed  along  the  entire  length 
of  the  recumbent  stems. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  nuts  of  the  bunch  varie- 
ties are  much  easier  harvested  than  in  the  running  kinds,  and 


this  in  itself  recommends  the  type  for  culture  where  the  crop  of 
nuts  is  the  principal  object.  Being  small,  sweet  and  well 
flavored,  the  Spanish  nut  is  preferred  by  confectioners.  But 
to  eat  out  of  hand  the  large  bunch  varieties  are  more  attractive 
and  more  sought  after  by  the  local  dealers,  except  the  Orientals, 
who  prefer  the  smaller  variety.  The  running  or  flat  varieties, 
such  as  Running  Jumbo  and  Virginia  Creeping,  while  they 
yield  prolifically  a  large  fine  nut,  would  seem  best  adapted  for 
fodder  and  green  manuring.  Under  favorable  conditions  they 
produce  a  large  amount  of  vegetable  matter,  as  is  indicated  in 
Table  I,  which  exceeds  in  quantity  and  nutritive  value  almost 
any  other  crop  that  can  be  grown  on  light  soils  with  an  equal 
amount  of  moisture.  In  addition  to  which,  both  the  physical 
and  chemical  conditions  of  the  land  are  improved  for  succeeding 
crops  of  corn,  cotton  or  grain. 

PLANTING    AND    HARVESTING. 

In  addition  to  a  thorough  preparation  of  the  land  before 
planting,  frequent  shallow  cultivation  to  suppress  weeds  during 
the  earlier  growth  of  the  crop,  and  to  keep  the  ground  mellow, 
but  not  too  loose,  are  very  essential  to  the  best  success.  A  sandy 
or  light  gravelly  loam  seems  best  adapted  to  the  full  develop- 
ment of  both  nuts  and  vines,  although  a  heavy  growth  of  the 
latter  usually  results  on  heavier  soils  when  well  drained  and 
tilled.  Another  important  advantage  of  light  soils  is  the  avoid- 
ance of  discoloring  the  pods  which  is  likely  to  occur  in  dark  or 
red  soils  especially  when  inclined  towards  clay  and  an  over- 
snpply  of  moisture. 

The  large-growing  bunch  varieties  should  be  planted  in  rows 
3  to  3%  feet  apart.  The  running  varieties  require  more  room. 
3%  to  5  feet  between  the  rows  being  the  best  distance  as  indi- 
cated in  our  experience.  The  Spanish  variety  may  be  planted 
in  rows  2  to  3  feet  apart.  We  plant  2  seeds  per  running  foot 
of  row  for  all  varieties,  which  has  proved  entirely  satisfactory. 
It  should  be  here  noted  that  in  the  experimental  plantings  all 
test  rows  are  placed   5  feet  apart  and  the  comparatively  low 


.  yields  of  the  Spanish  peanut  shown  in  the  table  of  acre  yields  is 
due  to  this  fact ;  placing  the  rows  2V2  feet  apart  would  in  most 
cases  almost  double  the  yield.  Planting  is  best  done  by  running 
shallow  furrows  at  proper  distances  apart.  A  six-  or  eight-inch 
mould-board  plow  set  to  run  not  over  4  inches  deep  will  answer 
the  purpose  admirably,  or  the  drills  may  be  made  with  a  hoe. 
Drop  the  seed  by  hand  and  cover  1  to  3  inches  deep,  according 
to  type  of  soil  and  moisture;  light,  dry  soils  requiring  the 
deeper  planting.  If  very  mellow,  the  soil  should  be  firmed 
above  the  seeds,  a  light  roller  or  the  feet  answering  the  purpose 
well.  If  only  a  small  quantity  is  to  be  planted  the  seed  had 
better  be  shelled,  as  nothing  but  perfect  kernels  may  then  be 
selected.  Owing  to  the  tedious  operation  of  shelling  the  nuts, 
in  extensive  plantings  it  may  be  more  practical  to  merely  break 
the  pod  in  two,  or  they  may  be  planted  whole,  in  which  case  the 
germination  is  somewhat  slower,  but  otherwise  satisfactory  if 
sound  nuts  are  used.  Unless  several  acres  are  to  be  planted,  it 
will  probably  not  pay  to  purchase  a  planting  implement, 
although  these  are  not  expensive  and  are  said  to  do  excellent 
work.  The  ordinary  corn-planter  may  also  be  adjusted  to  do 
satisfactory  planting. 

The  young  plants  must  be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  should 
be  frequently  cultivated.  If  a  hand  wheel-hoe,  such  as  the 
"Planet,  Jr."  or  the  ordinary  one-horse  five-tooth  cultivator  with 
proper  attendants,  is  used  in  season,  little  or  no  hand-hoeing  will 
be  necessary.  After  the  plants  begin  to  flower  they  should  be 
disturbed  as  little  as  possible.  Unless  the  season  turns  very 
dry,  the  vines  remain  a  deep-green  color  almost  up  to  the  time 
of  harvest  and  it  is  well  to  pull  a  vine  from  time  to  time  to 
determine  the  stage  of  maturity.  While  they  should  not  be 
harvested  too  early,  permitting  the  nuts  to  remain  in  the  ground 
after  a  certain  stage,  especially  if  the  season  is  wet,  is  taking  a 
risk  of  losing  part  of  the  crop  through  the  germination  of  the 
more  mature  and  best  seed.  It  appears  to  be  impossible  to 
permit  the  late-matnring  nuts  to  ripen  in  the  ground  and  at  the 
same  time  save  those  maturing  early,  nnle?^  the  soil  and  season 
are  exceptionally  favorable,  and  no  set  rule  can  be  given  when 


to  harvest.  It  requires  140  to  170  days  for  the  crop  to  mature 
under  ordinary  conditions.  As  early  in  the  spring  as  the  ground 
can  be  made  friable  is  the  best  time  for  planting.  As  large  a 
part  of  the  nuts  as  possible  should  be  permitted  to  mature  under 
ground  and  then  harvested  with  vines  attached,  in  which  condi- 
tion they  may  be  cured,  either  in  tall  slender  shocks  made  by 
stringing  the  plants  on  a  pole  driven  upright  in  the  ground,  out 
of  doors,  or  hung  over  lines  in  a  well-ventilated  shed. 

When  fully  cured  the  nuts  are  picked  off  the  vines  and 
sorted.  These  latter  operations  are  the  most  tedious  in  the 
whole  production  of  the  crop  and  unless  done  by  cheap  and 
skillful  labor  may  consume  most  of  the  profits.  In  this  connec- 
tion, as  well  as  in  general  methods  and  results,  the  experience 
of  the  writer,  who  grew  privately,  in  1908,  a  third-acre  of  the 
four  varieties  under  consideration  may  be  of  interest. 

Planted  in  the  Manoa  Valley  in  a  well-prepared  virgin  soil 
of  a  medium  gravelly  loam,  which  was  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  guava  the  previous  year,  the  crop  grew  luxuriantly 
and  proved  of  easiest  possible  culture.  By  using  select  shelled 
seed,  strong  germination  and  a  full  stand  were  obtained.  The 
crop  was  planted  in  July.  Two  seeds  were  planted  in  a  hill, 
a  foot  apart,  in  rows  4  feet  apart.  This  permitted  of  horse- 
cultiiation  up  to  the  flowering  stage,  after,  which  the  crop 
received  no  further  attention  until  harvested.  The  general  crop 
matured  in  about  150  days,  the  Spanish  variety  matured  some- 
what earlier,  but  all  varieties  were  dug  at  the  same  time.  Har- 
vesting was  facilitated  by  loosening  the  plant  with  a  broad- 
tined  spading-fork  thrust  under  the  hill,  which  permitted  pull- 
ing out  the  plant  with  practically  all  the  nuts  adhering.  Cal- 
culated to  acre  yields,  the  following  results  were  obtained: 
Spanish — 1,965  pounds  nuts,  2,550  pounds  cured  tops;  Bunch 
Jumbo — 1,450  pounds  nuts,  2,925  pounds  cured  tops;  Bun- 
ning  Jumbo,  1.680  pounds  nuts,  3,370  pounds  cured  tops ;  Vir- 
ginia Creeping — 1,760  pounds  nuts,  3,150  pounds  cured  tops. 
In  this  experiment,  the  two  Jumbo  varieties  gave  the  smallest 
yields  of  nuts,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  fine  large  pods  consisted 


of  a  large  percentage  of  "pops"  (empty  pods).  Excellent  as  were 
these  fields,  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  a  considerably 
increased  yield-  would  have  resulted  from  closer  planting, — for 
the  Spanish  variety,  say  2%  feet,  and  the  other  varieties  3 ]  2 
feet  apart.  The  crop  sold  readily  at  6  cents  per  pound  except  the 
Spanish  variety,  which  was  sold  in  part  at  5  cents  per  pound,  and 
the  balance  was  retained  for  home  use  in  preference  to  any  of  the 
other  varieties.  The  cash  value  of  the  nuts  calculated  to  acre 
yields  alone  was  as  follows:  Spanish,  $98.00;  Bunch  Jumbo, 
$87.00;  Running  Jumbo,  $100.80;  Virginia  Creeping,  $105.60. 
The  cost  of  production  up  to  the  time  of  harvest  did  not  exceed 
$20.00  per  acre,  but  the  cost  of  stripping  the  nuts  from  the 
vines  and  sorting  them  afterwards  amounted  to  almost  2  cents 
per  pound,  or  an  average  of  approximately  $35.00  per  acre. 
This  makes  a  total  cost  of  about  $55.0  per  acre  to  place  the 
crop  in  bags  ready  for  market.  Doubtless  this  expense  would 
be  materially  lessened  with  a  more  extended  experience,  espe- 
cially if  women  and  children  could  be  employed  for  the  lighter 
but  more  tedious  work  of  picking  and  sorting  the  nuts.  In  the 
above  estimates  no  credit  has  been  allowed  for  the  cured  tops. 
These  gave  an  average  yield  of  approximately  l1/-}  tons  of  cured 
fodder  per  acre.  At  a  low  estimation  these  should  be  worth 
$12.50  per  ton,  or  an  added  value  of  $18.75  per  acre,  about  the 
cost  of  producing  the  whole  crop  up  to  the  harvest  stage. 
Xumerous  reports  of  the  profitable  culture  of  the  peanut  for 
home  use  have  come  to  the  Station.  The  Kamehameha  Girls' 
School  recently  reported  harvesting  93  pounds  of  sound  nuts, 
from  a  piece  of  ground  26  x  50  feet  square.  This  is  equivalent 
to  over  3,000  pounds  of  nuts  per  acre.  While  the  work  of  strip- 
ping the  nuts  was  found  the  most  difficult  part  of  their  culture, 
here  as  elsewhere,  it  was  in  this  case  overcome  by  student  labor, 
a  suiiizestion  for  the  utilization  of  our  large  population  of  school 
youth  during  vacation  periods.  To  those  acquainted  with  whole- 
some and  profitable  employment  created  by  the  lighter  work 
about  the  orchards,  vineyards  and  hop-fields  in  California  and 
elsewhere,  this  suggestion  will  not  seem  impracticable.     One  of 


our  prominent  citizens  has  suggested  this  as  a  possible  solution 
of  the  labor  problem  in  picking  cotton,  should  that  industry 
become  established  in  the  islands,  and  the  same  service  could 
doubtless  be  utilized  in  other  ways. 

USES    OF   THE    PEANUT. 

Some  of  the  principal  uses  of  the  peanut  have  already  been 
touched  upon.  At  first  thought  the  cash  value  of  the  nut  crop 
might  be  considered  of  greatest  importance,  but  in  Hawaii, 
where  the  cost  of  nitrogenous  feed-stuffs  is  exceptionally  high, 
and  in  great  demand,  the  fodder  value  of  the  plant,  including 
the  nuts,  may  prove  more  valuable  than  for  any  other  purpose. 
With  live  hogs  at  10  cents  per  pound,  as  at  present,  and  for  a 
decade  past,  there  would  appear  to  be  more  profit  in  feeding  the 
crop  to  hogs  than  in  disposing  of  the  crop  in  any  other  way. 
The  Alabama  Experiment  Station  found  that  hogs  run  on  pea- 
nut pasture  produced  a  pound  of  pork  on  the  following  amounts 
of  grain:  Peanuts,  1.77  pounds;  cow  peas,  3.07  pounds; 
sweet  potatoes,  3.13  pounds;  sorghum,  3.70  pounds.  The 
Arkansas  Station  reports  that  one-fourth  of  an  acre  planted  to 
peanuts  produced  313  pounds  of  pork  as  compared  to  109 
pounds  from  a  plat  of  the  same  size  planted  to  corn.  Many 
other  results  could  be  quoted  to  show  the  superior  feeding  value, 
pound  for  pound  and  acre  for  acre,  of  peanuts  over  any  other 
feed  that  can  be  grown  where  peanuts  thrive.  Analyses  show 
peanut  hay  to  have  a  higher  feeding  value  than  California  wheat 
hay,  and  approaching  that  of  alfalfa.  In  the  South  it  is  exten- 
sively fed  to  horses,  mules,  cattle  and  sheep,  and  milch  cows 
respond  to  the  ration,  while  all  kinds  of  poultry  relish  both  the 
fodder  and  seed.  The  advantages  of  feeding  the  crop  on  the 
farm  are  two-fold.  In  the  first  place,  the  large  item  of  expense 
in  picking  and  grading  the  nuts  is  eliminated,  and  secondly  the 
valuable  by-product,  manure,  is  retained  for  further  enriching 
the  land. 

As  human  food  the  peanut  is  constantly  gaining  in  favor, 
and  forms  a  regular  article  of  diet  in  many  households.     Peanut 


1 1 


butter  is  a  staple  article  of  commerce  and  is  highly  recom- 
mended by  many  physicians.  Every  kitchen  garden  should  con- 
tain a  small  patch  of  peanuts  for  home  consumption.  The  soil 
will  be  left  in  better  condition  thereby  than  if  left  fallow  and 
run  over  with  weeds.  It  is  one  of  the  few  crops  grown  by  the 
Station  not  excessively  attacked  by  insect  pests. 


PLATE   I. 


HAWAIIAN    GROWN    PEANUTS 
(Slightly  less  than  natural  size) 


1.  — Running   Jumbo 
4. — Bunch  Jumbo 


3. — Spanish 


2.— Virginia  Creeping 
5.— Virginia  Bunch 


PLATE  II. 

A. — Virginia  Creeping 


D  —Virginia  Bunch 


C-  Running  Jumbo 


E.— Spanish 


B'— Bunch  Jumbo 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  09216  3087 


